Following a historic surgery last month, the first living recipient of a kidney transformed by genetic modification is returning home. Two weeks after his surgery, on Wednesday, Rick Slayman—the first surviving recipient of a kidney transplant from a genetically altered pig—was allowed to leave the hospital.
Massachusetts General Hospital announces that Rick Slayman is recovering well
Massachusetts General Hospital said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, "He is recovering well and will continue to recuperate at home with his family." According to CNN, Slayman said, "This moment – leaving the hospital today with one of the cleanest bills of health I’ve had in a long time – is one I wished would come for many years. Now, it’s a reality and one of the happiest moments of my life.”
Slayman, a 62-year-old manager at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, had previously stated that after receiving a diagnosis of end-stage renal disease last year, his physicians had advised him to consider a pig kidney. In addition to acknowledging that there are many unknowns when it comes to animal-to-human transplants, Slayman's doctors stated last month that they believed his new kidney may survive for years.
His procedure represents the third such xenotransplant of an organ from a pig into a living person. After all other alternatives for transplants were exhausted, hearts from living patients were put into the first two recipients. The organs were transplanted under special regulations that allow individuals in really severe circumstances to receive experimental procedures with compassion. Weeks after receiving their organs, both patients passed away.
Slayman expressed his gratitude for the outpouring of support following his surgery, particularly from fellow patients awaiting kidney transplants. The number of organs accessible is significantly less than the quantity that is needed. In the US, 17 people pass away every day while awaiting an organ. The organ with the lowest supply is the kidney. The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network estimates that 27,000 kidneys were transplanted in 2023, but there were approximately 89,000 patients waiting to receive those organs.